Dossier: The 1956 Hungarian uprising - present-day perspectives

Dossier: The 1956 Hungarian Uprising - present-day perspectives

In October 1956, Hungarian citizens staged a popular uprising to protest against the repressive policies of the Communist Party and against the country’s occupation by the Soviet Army. On 11 November 1956, Soviet forces quashed the last pockets of armed resistance in the capital city.

Ágnes Heller is one of the most prominent philosophers of our time. We talked with her about her experiences during the Hungarian Uprising of 1956, about the crisis in Europe and its future, and about coping with the past.

During the 1956 uprising, the coat of arms named after the Stalinist dictator Mátyás Rákosi was cut out of the national flag by revolutionaries - the ground for a workshop arranged by the artists Katharina Roters and József Szolnoki.

By Kristóf Szombati, József Szolnoki

Video: Hungary 1956 - The official commemorations

The official commemorations of the 1956 uprising provide a window onto the state rituals and the symbolic politics of the right-wing government. Cultural anthropologist Gergely Pulay gives a commentary on the events that took place on 22-23 October, 2016 in Budapest.

Video: Pop music and the cult of the nation

Cultural anthropologist Gergely Pulay uses the example of the 'freedom concert' that took place on 23 October, 2016 in the Budapest Arena to explain how popular music can serve as a vehicle for kindling patriotic feelings in young Hungarians.

Dossier

Our dossier on Hungary is as a forum for critical voices since the right-wing government came to power in April 2010. The contributions reflect the socio-political changes as well as long-term developments.

The study analyses the Hungarian Government’s rhetoric and policy measures with regard to refugee, asylum and migration issues and shows how democratic opposition parties, the far-right, and civil society actors have responded to the Government’s anti-refugee policies.

Video: 1956 - The forgotten narrative

Why was 1956 more than just a freedom struggle against Soviet occupation? Historian Márkus Keller and '56er' András Bíró explain the role of Workers' Councils and forgotten dimensions of the revolution.

Picture gallery

More about Hungary today

Our dossier on Hungary is as a forum for critical voices since the right-wing government came to power in April 2010. The contributions reflect the socio-political changes as well as long-term developments.

Hungary’s largest left-wing political daily, Népszabadság, has shut down unexpectedly, and it is more than likely that this development is linked to the governing Fidesz party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Independent journalists are not giving up, however, despite the ruling party’s tightening grip on the media.

Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán and his ruling party Fidesz failed with their referendum to obstruct the EU’s effort to impose an obligatory quota scheme for the resettlement of refugees. However, they could benefit from this defeat in domestic policies. A commentary.

Putinist trolls are having a good time in Hungary these days. Articles published by pro-Kremlin, anti-immigrant news sites are shared by thousands of readers, often mistaken for actual news stories. Objective journalism has thus been degraded to just one of many possible narratives for interpreting the world around us.